Hosts Vivienne Morpeth and Heather Potten of the International Feltmakers Association’s (IFA) FeltMatters: The Podcast are back with the second episode of Season Two of the program. They speak with feltmaker Olga Exley about her felted slippers – it’s fascinating to take a deep dive into this specialised felting topic, where fibre types, shrinkage coefficients, and other tips are discussed!
In addition, there is a segment where Louise Curnin and fellow feltmaker Jackie Stringer share their thoughts on the excellent West Hungary Felt Tour organised by Flóra Carlile-Kovács. Find information about the tours HERE – https://www.felttours.com/felt-tours
Lastly, Heather highlights the fantastic experience of working alongside shepherd and feltmaker Janna Turner, where they worked with raw Gotland fleece to create a seat cover. Lots of interesting tidbits about sheep shearing and local wool in this segment!
Subscribe to the channel to avoid missing future podcasts.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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The International Feltmakers Association’s online Colour Course is now open for enrollment. Coursework access begins on January 2nd and ends on February 28th, 2025. In addition, four other classes are available that run during the same time: Basics, Surface & Edge, 3D Forms, and Nuno Felting.
“DF2 | Colour gives you the skills to blend your own hues, tints and shades of wool. Learn essential colour theory through hand carding and make felt shade swatches for future reference. Explore soft and firm prefelt effects by creating inlay and mosaic design samples. A truly practical course on understanding colour, DF2 is highly recommended for beginners and professionals.”
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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We realise we shared an education course yesterday. However, many tutors are announcing their upcoming class schedules for the new year. This class from Felting School Online focuses on creating ‘Magical Hats’. It is a prerecorded, downloadable ‘video’ with English subtitles and an English voiceover.
There is an early bird price for the class until the 16th of December.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
Editor’s Note: Fiona’s classes are popular. To find out earlier, you may want to sign up for her email newsletter.
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
Some students share their still-in-process, wet-felted eyeglass cases created during a hybrid workshop with Judit Pocs. From left to right: Clodagh, Siobhan, Breda, Dee, Adrienne, Elizabeth, and Hélène.
Hybrid Workshop with International Tutor
On October 6, 2024, eighteen members of Feltmakers Ireland came together at the CIE Sports Hall in Inchicore, Dublin, for an innovative hybrid workshop. Taught remotely by renowned Hungarian artist and tutor Judit Pócs via Zoom, this innovative course blended the advantages of group learning with international expertise. The project, a wet-felted eyeglass case with intricate embellishment options, challenged participants to develop their advanced felting skills.
Students introduce themselves to tutor Judit Pocs – via Zoom
Getting acquainted. Grateful for committee member Suzanne’s expertise with Zoom and projectors! She is wearing a black jumper with a red stripe down the sleeve.
For the workshop, students could use deliciously coloured Merino wool kits from Feltmakers Ireland and Design and Crafts Council (DCCI) member Leiko Uchiyama (https://www.leikofelt.com/shop/) or fibre from their own stashes.
Wool Kit from Leiko Felt
Students working away at the CIE Sport Hall and Social Club
As the projects were small, we shared tables.
Everyone could see the projector where the Zoom was cast.
Some students opted to wear gloves.
Fulling a section of the project.
We organised the CIE Sports Hall’s tables in three rows, with a ‘U’- shape of tables surrounding it. We wanted to ensure all the students could see the projector screen AND be able to get up and walk around the room.
Students show their work to Judit via the Zoom connection
Adrienne shows her case.Hélène shows her case.Clodagh shows her case.Helen shows her case.Elizabeth shows her case.
With the class structured as a hybrid—our teacher, Judit, in Hungary, and the students gathered together in Dublin, Ireland—we had to adapt creatively. If we had been taking the class individually, each of us would have worked in front of our own computers and shared our work directly. With our hybrid session, we interacted differently since we used only one laptop to communicate with our teacher. Consequently, we took turns lining up to share our progress with Judit. Special thanks to committee member (and fellow student) Suzanne Phelan for her excellent expertise in using Zoom and for kindly loaning us her hardware – her laptop, projector, and screen. THANK YOU!!!
Some of the finished eyeglass cases
Felted Eyeglass Case by Hélène Dooley.
Felted Eyeglass Case by Maria McGarry.
Felted Eyeglass Case by Breda Fay.
Felted Eyeglass Case by Siobhan Ryan
Felted Eyeglass Case by Sam Fagan.
Felted eyeglass case by Zivile Zeniauskaite.
Finished case by Elizabeth Redding.
Finished case by Clodagh Mac Donagh.
Felted Eyeglass Case by Helen Kiersey.
Each student used creative decision-making to ornament the outside of her case, and each one came out uniquely!
We sincerely apologise if you attended our class in October and we missed the photo of your felted eyeglasses case. Please email your photo to us, and we’ll happily add it to the slideshow above.
Conclusion
Our class with Judit Pocs was a rewarding experience. Students enjoyed the process and significantly advanced their feltmaking skills. Completing intricate eyeglass cases showcased their ability to master advanced techniques such as shaping three-dimensional felt, attaching gradient cords, using prefelt for patterning, and devising sturdy closures.
We can’t wait to see how they bring these newly acquired skills into their future creations, pushing the boundaries of their artistry even further!
Judit has several pre-recorded classes available to purchase from her website, along with live ones. For more information, visit her website – https://pocsjuditstudio.hu/workshop/
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
Ashleigh Ellis will give a free online talk and Q&A to preview her 2025 three-module workshop on ‘Cyanotypes using Natural Dyes’, which is part of the Natural Dyers & Growers Academy.
National Organic Training Skills (NOTS) is partnering with The Natural Dyers and Growers Academy and AppleOak FibreWorks to offer all Irish residents a 40% discount on the Natural Dyeying Course 2025 fees and a further 10% reduction on the dye and fabric boxes for the year.
The course is fully online and consists of 12 modules, scheduled over 12 months, starting mid-January 2025. Each module will open on the first of the month, giving access to written and illustrated material to guide through its topic. Each module also contains a quiz and a project, which will result in recipes and samples for students’ portfolios on that topic.
The booking gate for the one-year Natural Dyeing Course 2025 will officially close on Saturday, the 30th of November.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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Registration opens today for the Felting and Fiber Studio‘s ‘Felted Hanging Spiral Course‘, taught by Feltmakers Ireland member Hélène Dooley. Adding movement to an art piece takes it to a new dimension. The shape becomes fluid, even mesmerising.
This is a four-week course, and it is delivered through the following media:
A series of short videos which take students step-by-step through the process. Each video forms a single unit in the process. The result is that students can easily pick up where they left off and do not need to devote huge chunks of time to making their spirals in one or two sessions.
A set of PDF files which tie into the videos.
Daily access to the classroom chatroom for the duration of the course.
The course starts on Friday, the 11th of October and runs through the 8th of November.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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The International Feltmaker Association (IFA) has a new podcast! Cohosts Vivienne Morpeth and Heather Potten discuss their love of all things felting. The podcast is an excellent way to learn about different feltmaking perspectives while felting, cooking or walking your dog!
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
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Feltmakers Ireland is excited to announce that we are holding a hybrid online workshop with renowned Hungarian artist and tutor Judit Pocs on Sunday, October 6th, from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
We have ONE spot remaining, now open to non-members for 105 euros.
In this course, Judit Pocs’ Online Workshop – Eyeglass Cases with Special Closure via Zoom, we will make an eyeglass case with an interesting shape and closure, the surface of which we will decorate with pre-felted patterns. The long nose of the lid extends to the back of the case, where the closure strap is located. The case closes by pulling the long nose through the strap. The two tendril-like extensions make its shape more organic, and a spiral line can also be felted into the design. Self-made prefelt patterns make the surface rich and exciting.
We will work with 19-micron Australian merino wool tops.
Judit recommends this course for beginners and advanced alike.
Where: The workshop is a hybrid as it will be held at the CIE Sports Hall in Inchicore, Dublin, and conducted via Zoom. Judit will teach us from Hungary. This is a class of 18 students.
Students should bring their felting supplies and a packed lunch. Complimentary tea and coffee will be provided. Wool kits from Leiko Felt will be available on the day of the class for 22 euros per kit if interested.
NOTE: The link is for non-members. If you are a member of Feltmakers Ireland, please email feltmakersIE@gmail.com to reserve the spot.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
